7 July 2006
We are glad as the Social Sector Cluster to get an opportunity update on the activities of the Cluster with regard to the Government Programme of Action for this year. Overall, the Cluster is making steady progress on various fronts.
SOCIAL SECURITY
The overall target set by government for extending the child support grant (CSG) to children under 14 years was 3, 2 million children by end of March 2006. Over 3, 4 million children now receive the grant. In the age cohort 7 & 8 and 9 and 10 years, the targets have been exceeded. In the age category 11 to 14 years, there is still a shortfall of 119 000 children that need to be registered. It is estimated that the 1, 2 million target for 11 to 14 years will be reached by the end of the 2006/07 financial year.
The Cabinet's position to shift the social grants function from the provinces to the South African Social Security Agency has been implemented. The Agency is now accountable and responsible for the full management, administration and payment of social grants. In the provinces where additional capacity is required, the Agency has entered into a services agreement with the provinces to provide human resources, finance and other support until the Agency has full capacity.
SASSA has successfully completed a pilot project in 3 offices and achieved an average of between 1 to 3 days turn around period in processing applications. SASSA will now investigate the feasibility of full implementation of these processes in all regions.
A tender was issued for the procurement of mobile units to render services in remote and rural areas as part of the efforts to improve accessibility of services in these areas.
PROVISION OF BASIC SERVICES
The target for eradication of historic buckets in formal settlements is December 2007. To date the programme has eradicated approximately 62 000 buckets. There are still 166 000 buckets to be eradicated in formal settlements and the majority of these are found in the Free State. Government is confident that these will all be eradicated by the set date.
South Africa has generally done well in eradicating its basic water services backlogs. In terms of basic water supply, SA has already halved the backlog in 2005, thus achieving the Millennium Development Goal on access to water well ahead of schedule. At least 35,7 million of the targeted 37 million people had access to free basic water.
The sector is looking at various interventions to address challenges and accelerate delivery to meet the 2008 target and improve management and sustainability of services.
12 pilot municipalities have been targeted to improve the full continuum of municipal billings systems with particular attention to improving the financial and economic viability of municipalities and improving public confidence in the system of municipal billing.
Municipalities involved range from two metropolitan (Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela) to small rural and remote municipalities. It is anticipated that the project will yield models that can provide policy and operational guidance to other similar municipalities.
PROMOTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY AND SOCIAL COHESION
Work is going on with regard to preservation of Truth and Reconciliation Commission materials and research, victim assistance and ten-year celebrations of the TRC process.
With regard to education, guidelines for education reparation are being refined. An allocation of R5 million for victims who testified before the TRC and requested education support, has been transferred to NSFAS.
Joint project plan between JCPS and SS Clucters has been developed to deal with social crime prevention. The Department of Education and SAPS continue to collaborate in order to render schools safe from crime.
The Department of Education continues to work in the schools to lay foundations for a non-racial society. A Racial Integration Strategy document has been distributed to schools and a booklet, South Africa My Country, which deals with national symbols and their meaning, has been published.
Earlier Social Cohesion campaigns continue to be implemented by departments including: The National Symbols Campaign which includes the Flag in every school campaign; the Arts in Prisons Campaign; Youth Expressions Programme with major learnership dimensions for both rural and urban youth; and Moral Regeneration.
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CARE
A total of 1 250 primary schools and 9 835 creches have been visited to strengthen implementation of the Health Promoting Schools approach. Workshops to empower educators to deal with health related barriers to effective teaching will commence soon.
The importance of growth monitoring and the use of Vitamin A supplementation is being highlighted in a media campaign which commenced in May 2006. This campaign will be complemented by a focus on breastfeeding and nutrition.
Coordination of school sport programmes to promote healthy lifestyle, physical activity, social cohesion, and implement national crime prevention strategy is proceeding well. Guidelines on the prevention and management of drug use/abuse by learners have been published.
The Department of Health will be intensifying its immunisation campaign in the districts that remain below the national average in terms of polio immunisation. This is part of the efforts to ensure that the country remains polio free. The Department will continue to collaborate with the Department of Health of Namibia to support the efforts to respond to the reported cases of polio in Namibia. As part of the implementation of the National TB Crisis Management Plan, a media campaign - "Hola 6" - was launched emphasizing that TB can be cured, if you take your medication for six months. The campaign consisted extensive TV and radio flightings in all 11 languages and extensive use of community radio stations and billboards.
On Malaria, preparations are being made to commence in-door residual spraying in August 2006. Health promotion material on malaria prevention is currently being finalised and will be used ahead the malaria season to mobilise communities around malaria and its prevention. An audit aimed at strengthening health promotion activities on malaria was conducted in the three provinces where malaria is endemic.
Authority has been delegated to Hospital CEOs in all 9 Provinces. However, national situation analysis of these delegations is being conducted, looking at the various factors including: the extent of the delegations given to CEOs, barriers impeding the process of delegations and the capacity of CEOs to practically implement the delegations. The situation analysis will be completed in August 2006.
HOUSING
Following numerous engagements by the Minister of Housing, the principal officer of the Financial Sector Charter Council and the Managing Director of the Banking Association South Africa (representing the banking sector) the issues covered in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Minister, the MD of the Banking Association of South Africa and the CEO's of the four major banks viz. Standard Bank, Nedcor, FNB and ABSA on 31st March 2005 and concluded within the auspices of the Financial Sector Charter into which process it had been collapsed, have been adequately addressed.
The banks confirmed that they will, as a first phase, originate R42 billion in housing finance by 31st December 2008 and the Banks have advised that they have already started originating in the target market and have confirmed that as at 30 September 2005, they had lent R16,7 billion to the target market. This level of lending has not been verified. The banks are to submit reports to the Charter Council giving details of their respective engagements in the target market to enable the Council to confirm the level of lending that has taken place. Based on the success of this phase, agreement has been reached, as a second phase of this initiative, subject to possible risk sharing mechanisms, the creation of mechanisms to raise funds in the market through an appropriate Conduit, which will be guided in line with principles set by Housing and the intervention of the Ministry of Finance, the Banks will increase their investment beyond the R42 billion in the target market.
Engagements in the charter process continue on a regular basis with representation by the Department, National Treasury, community, labour and the Banks through the Sectoral Low Income Housing Committee. The work of this Committee is far advanced as compared to any of the other committees constituted in terms of this process.
A generic consumer education programme aimed at informing potential borrowers of their rights and obligations and the rights and obligations of Banks will be flighted through various media by the Banks as will an awareness campaign to the target group of the existence of this initiative and the basis on which they can access affordable housing finance products and subsidies from the Department of Housing. Government has initiated a programme to bridge the gap, as identified by the banks, as a barrier to entry to affordable housing finance products and has developed a programme of financial support for households with incomes ranging from R3,501 to R 7,000.
The successful implementation of these initiatives will also address the challenges of the duality of our economy and unlock the latent potential of the property market in areas previously under-performing and especially the dysfunctionality in the target market, i.e. those households earning between R1500 to R 7500 per month. The Director-General of the Department of Housing and the MD of the Banking Association will form a joint committee to monitor the implementation of this agreement.
Piloting of rental housing stock for the poor
Rental housing stock for the poor provides the persons who may wish to rent, the choice and options for mobility if they have a family home in one area and wish to work and live in another. It also makes it possible for persons who do not qualify for subsidized housing or who may live in informal settlements to be housed in decent accommodation.
Research that was undertaken to understand the rental needs for the poor has established, inter alia, that about 1.8 million South African households in the middle to lower income groups are catered for in rented accommodation as compared to about 5.2 million households who own property and that 45% of the households at national level have a monthly income of between R0 to R800 per month, while 45% of the households at metropolitan level fall within the R801 to R3, 200-income bracket. It was also established that 71.14% of households rented accommodation nationally, that 71.76% renting in metropolitan areas live in formal structures and that Black households are the largest percentage of renters followed by Coloured renters. In addition, it was found that the demand for rental housing nationally, should increase by about 105,670 units per annum, until 2006, in the middle to lower income groups.
In view of the dire need for rental housing for the poor, various options have been identified and, in this regard, it is believed that municipalities should consider a range of options for public housing stock, including selective transfer to SHIs for rental or ownership (via co-operatives) and transfer to individuals for ownership via sectional title. Importantly, also the options of retaining stock and demolition with rebuild have been identified. Hence the linkage between public housing stock strategies and municipal housing delivery programmes are considered. This has assisted in paving the way for a public housing policy and a public housing programme. Furthermore, addressing a housing benefit and indigency targets those who can't pay and in so doing creates a more supportive environment for rent collection and enforcement and for addressing the problem of undesired evictions.
At the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality a programme of decanting hostels to create transitional housing, redeveloped 1,2, and 3 bedroom self contained units and the redevelopment of hostels into integrated sustainable human settlements is already underway. Rental payable range from R55 per person per month in a hostel with electricity to R70 per person per month, for a partly converted hostel with electricity. For redeveloped self-contained units, payments vary from R70 per room to R220 for a three bedroom unit. Funding for this project is sourced from the Gauteng Partnership Fund, the NHFC and Institutional Subisidies. In addition, the Municipal Council, budgets for the maintenance of the hostels. Beneficiaries of these units are all former hostel residents of that specific hostel, and constitute either local residents or people from other provinces and towns. Lease agreements have been signed for all redeveloped units with the Municipality and private companies are hesitant to take on the management of these hostels.
The Department has formulated an affordable rental housing programme for these persons in the low income bracket and who may live in housing stock arising out of : a. provision made by previous own affairs department; b. public sector hostels provided for the purposes of housing migratory labour in the previous dispensation, c. municipal rental stock which has not been transferred to the households that inhabit the units and will continue to be used as rental accommodation because of the low economic status of the households; and d. new high rise housing stock that will be built for the specific purpose of accommodation low income households in rental accommodation.
This policy framework is be presented to the meeting of Strategic Management on the 4 July 2006 before being taken through the consultative processes which precede approval by Housing MINMEC.
Piloting rental for the poor provides Government with the opportunity to test a municipality's ability to manage rental stock that has largely been inherited and an also provide a basis for determining the first level of accreditation for a municipality.
FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION
Currently provinces are being encouraged to change the methodology and where possible to phase-out of Agricultural starter pack programme into a sustainable Household Food Production Programme. This programme does not only focus on starter pack distribution but also assist in the development and transfer of suitable inputs, technologies, information as well as training and capacity building.
A study has been commissioned through Wits University to do an impact assessment of agricultural starter pack methodology in Gauteng Province. Through the Household Food Production Programme, more than 40 000 households received agricultural production packs since the beginning of the first quarter of the current financial year. The target for this financial year under HFPP is 62 000 vulnerable households.
Provinces have already prepared tender documents for the procurement and distribution of power hoes which will be funded from approximately R30 million allocation for food security. It is expected that more than 3000 beneficiaries will be able to improve their agricultural productivity. The programme is targeting mostly women and youth predominantly in rural areas.
240 Master trainers of food handlers in schools were trained in food safety, health and hygiene and maintenance of food preparation areas. The programme is feeding 298 323 learners in 801 ordinary schools and about 1 479 766 learners in 5 902 nodal schools.
Land Reform
By 31 March 2006, 89% of restitution claims had been settled. That is a total number of 71 654 claims out of the 79 696 claims lodged by the cut-off date of 31 December 1998. The majority of outstanding claims are rural and for restoration. These claims take longer to settle due to various challenges inter alia with land owners, claimant verification and involving all relevant role players to ensure sustainability of settlements.
The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights is focusing on key strategies to fast track the settlement of the outstanding claims by 2008 as per Presidential directive.
A technical task team has been established to develop a framework for the review of the willing buyer willing seller principle and market based approach for land reform. The task team developed a draft framework identifying the following specific areas for the review: " Policy and legislative underpinnings of the land and agrarian reform in South Africa; " Efficacy of the willing seller-willing-buyer principle as a basis for accelerating land delivery in general; " International experience with the implementation of this principle as a mechanism for land delivery; " South African experience with the use of the principle in question as a measure for redistributing land in the past eleven years; and " Policy implications arising by comparing prices paid for land in the market under the Restitution and Redistribution Programmes respectively as well as the land delivery trends between 1994 and 2004
Further outlined in the review framework is the proposed policy direction offering new models of land acquisition and the role of the State in the regulation of land prices.
SECOND ECONOMY INTERVENTIONS: SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE EXPANDED PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME AND ISRDP/URP
The national Inter-departmental Steering Committee comprising of the Departments of Education, Health, Public Works, Social Development and Presidency have worked with provinces to identify work opportunities.
The Departments of Health and Social Development have expanded Home and Community Based Care (HCBC) by increasing the number of caregivers receiving stipends and training more. In 2005/06: there were 62 445 caregivers. As part of expanding HCBC and the Community Health Worker Programme, provinces have identified additional caregivers who will receive stipends and training.
A nation wide audit of the network of Home Community Based sites has been completed and it provides a profile of the type and coverage of services rendered. The findings indicate that the majority of HCBC projects are in urban areas and most of the caregivers are women and youth. The majority of these youth have formal educational qualifications. Although most of the caregivers have received training, the training provided is neither standardized nor accredited. The audit indicated that there is a dire need to provide additional accredited training including project management.
The National Youth Commission and Provincial Youth Commissions are in the process of implementing the Community Care Worker Youth Service Project. The programme involves the appointment of young people to train as community care workers while they provide services related to their training in their own communities. In addition to receiving accredited training in HCBC, the young people also receive accredited training on youth development, life skills and entrepreneurship. Currently about 800 young people are participating and the programme will be expanded accordingly.
The Grant Agreement between Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Social sector has been finalized. The object of the agreement is to co-finance the undertaking of a detailed study on additional areas of expansion and the required capacities to manage the EPWP in the social sector. This agreement will enable the sector to produce an evidence- based scenario of the potential of the sector to meet the EPWP goals as well as the management capacities required for effective implementation.
Cabinet has mandated that the various categories of workers in the social sector be harmonized. Nine categories of workers from nine departments were identified such as Community Development Workers, Community Development Practitioners, Mid level Worker, Community Caregivers, Community Health Workers, Child and Youth Care Workers, Youth Worker, Probation Officers/Community Service Officers, ECD Practitioners. A detailed study to look at harmonising these workers has been commissioned.
A monitoring and evaluation framework integral to the successful implementation of the EPWP has been designed. The framework combines ongoing reporting and monitoring using existing departmental channels and a number of new evaluation tools to measure the impact of the programme. Various initiative are under way to improve provision of general education including target 529 schools to double the Maths and Science higher grade graduate output to 50 000 by 2008. 400 schools identified as DINALEDI schools for 2006.
The Department is engaged in a process to update the schools register of needs and ensure safe classrooms and healthy environments such as access to clean water and sanitation. By 31 May 2006, 47% of the estimated 30,000 sites had been audited and 15% had been captured. Full report will be available by March 2007. A Monitoring tool on safety in schools - Hlayiseka has been piloted in Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Western Cape. Final report awaited.
All schools with "so-called learners under trees" identified in September 2004 have been addressed. The Department continues to monitor the school infrastructure development programme with a view to improve facilities that are currently not suitable for learning and teaching. A National Education Infrastructure Monitoring System (NEIMS) is currently under development and will give details about the profile of each school in the country."
To ensure that all schools to have access to clean water and sanitation the DoE has provided DWAF with lists where schools do not have clean water and sanitation. DWAF is assisting in ensuring that backlogs are dealt with DWAF is assisting in ensuring that backlogs are dealt with. As of March 2006, 2 688 schools were identified as having no water facilities. To date 21 of these schools have since been provided with water. With regards to sanitation 2 238 schools have been identified as needing sanitation. The DoE is pursuing mechanisms for fast-tracking the provision of water and sanitation in collaboration with other Departments
The Doe has embarked on a programme to allocate more resources to interventions in education and training, including additional support to poor areas (QIDS-UP). A minimum resource package to support the poorest schools has been compiled to include labour saving devices, office equipment and supplies, fully equipped libraries and reading materials, science kits and security related resources. To promote reading 5233 Primary Schools that have Foundation Phase classes have been provided with sets of 100 Story books.
During 2006 approximately 9000 schools agreed to become 'no-fee schools' based on an adequate level of per capita funding of R527.00 per learner per annum. This covered over 3 million poor learners. More schools will be determined in 2007 towards a target of 40 of all schools
The DoE together with role-players from the Presidency and targeted stakeholders in the DoL and other government departments is working on a strategy to increase youth participation in ABET Programmes that facilitate access into further learning & other development opportunities. The ASECA Programme (A Secondary Education Curriculum for Adults) will be piloted for a limited number of youth who are beyond ABET level 4, but do not have a Grade 12 qualification, as an alternative to the Senior Certificate.
The Ministerial Committee on Literacy has completed its report, which makes recommendations for the massification of ABET literacy, using lessons learned during the study tour to Cuba, Venezuela and New Zealand
A strategy to enroll 5000 volunteers to act as mentors to vulnerable children & increase youth participation in national programmes that enhance Social Cohesion will emerge from the Policy Framework on Safety Nets for Vulnerable Children.
With respect to Social Crime Prevention, the module - Opening Our Eyes, has been distributed to schools to equip the educators to deal with gender-based violence and all forms of discrimination in schools. The DoE and SAPS has undertaken the training of trainers on the Signposts for Safe Schools. Consultations on the School Safety Policy Framework, and the Policy Framework on Safety Nets for Vulnerable Children are currently being undertaken.
CONCLUSION
The Cluster believes that progress has been made in the implementation of the POA over this reporting period.